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Loans battle at Wembley

THE owner of Wembley Stadium has warned that a significant fall in income or delay in large payments could force the company to break the terms of its bank loans.

Accounts for Wembley National Stadium show that the huge cost of constructing the home of the England football team — also one of Britain’s biggest entertainment venues — continues to weigh heavily on its finances.

A whopping £21.4m of interest charges on the company's £367m of debts hit earnings in 2011.

The stadium group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Football Association, notched up a record turnover of £99.6m in 2011, but made pre-tax profits of only £83,000.

The result would have been much worse, but the bottom line was flattered by a £5.9m business rate refund from the local council.

Wembley was able to make only a tiny profit despite benefiting from marquee events such as the Uefa Champions League final